1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to cigarette lighters having a child-resistant mechanism and more specifically to lighters employing a multi-button child-resistant mechanism.
2. Related Art
Cigarette lighters containing piezoelectric units are very useful and have become quite prevalent in modern times. Cigarette lighters of the type described herein generally contain a lighter housing that is small enough to be held in the palm of an adult hand. The operation of piezoelectric cigarette lighters is somewhat simpler than that of the traditional flint or spark-wheel lighter. Generally, the lighter is operated by depressing an actuator button, which both activate the piezoelectric unit and acts on a fuel-release lever to release fuel. As a result, a flame is produced at a location opposite the actuator button. As is evident, this process avoids the need for operation of a spark wheel simultaneously with operation of a fuel-release button in order to generate a flame. Obviously, there is an advantage to the simplicity that is offered by piezoelectric cigarette lighters. On the other hand, in the hands of children, or others who do not know how to safely and properly operate the lighter, such lighters are as dangerous as any other spark and/or flame-producing device. Thus, there is a need to equip cigarette lighters with safety features that minimize accidental or improper use by inexperienced persons, especially young children.
Many inventions have been created to address this safety-related concern. Generally, these inventions have sought to introduce safety mechanisms that disable operation of the actuator button of the lighter. As such, these lighters normally consist of a safety feature whereby the operational path of the actuator button is blocked by a latch, button, slide, or other blocking means. Proper operation of the lighter requires that the blocking means be moved out of the path of the actuator button, or another structure that might be integral with the actuator button, before a flame can be produced. Only then is the operator able to depress the actuator button and produce a flame. As such, the prior art requires additional structural members, as well as additional steps (e.g., lateral or longitudinal disengagement of a blocking means), to operate the lighter.
In some of the aforementioned cigarette lighters, the safety mechanism is passive. Once the safety feature is deactivated by moving the blocking member from the xe2x80x9clockedxe2x80x9d to the xe2x80x9cunlockedxe2x80x9d position, the lighter remains in the xe2x80x9cunlockedxe2x80x9d position, and the lighter is thus operable as a cigarette lighter with no safety feature at all. In these devices, the lighter remains in the xe2x80x9cunlockedxe2x80x9d position until the safety feature is activated again by manually re-engaging the safety mechanism (e.g., by manually returning the blocking means to the xe2x80x9clockedxe2x80x9d position).
In order to address this problem, some inventions have introduced safety mechanisms that are activated automatically after each use of the lighter. In general, this improvement has alleviated some of the fears associated with leaving the lighter in an xe2x80x9cunlocked,xe2x80x9d operable position after the operator has finished using the lighter. Nevertheless, a disadvantage that is common to the passive, as well as the active, cigarette lighters is that their operation is usually quite cumbersome. Frequently, in order to use such cigarette lighters, the operator must use more than one finger, and sometimes more than one hand, to perform several functions simultaneously. As such, loss of ease of use is the price that is paid for any additional amount of safety that might be achieved.
Therefore, there is a need for a device that not only achieves the stated safety goals, but also is amenable to operation with relative ease. The invention described herein offers such a combination and consists of a safety button that is similar in size and physical location to the conventional activation button. The invention requires that an ignition button, located in a cavity within the safety button, be depressed simultaneously with the safety button before a flame can be produced. In another embodiment, a button cover is placed adjacent to an ignition button. In this way, young children are coaxed into believing that they can operate the lighter in the usual way, i.e., by pressing only the safety button. However, such operation will produce neither a spark nor a flame. Moreover, given the relatively small size of the ignition button, operation of this button requires an amount of strength and pulp that are rarely found in the fingers of young children. At the same time, due to the placement of the ignition button, simultaneous operation of both the safety button and the ignition button requires use of only one finger, so that operation of the lighter by the intended adult user is no different from operation of a lighter with no safety mechanism at all.
The primary object of this invention is to provide a safety mechanism for cigarette lighters so that children, or inexperienced users, will be less likely to inadvertently activate the lighter. Such a safety feature is especially important because young children often play with lighters as toys and because lighters have mechanically moveable parts that make them attractive to children as toys.
A second object of the present invention is to provide an improved device for maximizing safety in cigarette lighters without compromising ease of use.
The invention meets its objectives by providing an ignition button that must be depressed in order for a spark and a flame to be produced. The ignition button is placed within a cavity in the lighter""s safety button, parallel to the lighter""s longitudinal axis, with only a small portion of the ignition button (i.e., the ignition button""s operation section) extending outside of the safety button""s contact surface. Typically, a young child will attempt to activate the lighter by depressing the safety button only. However, when this is done, neither a spark nor a flame will be generated as the safety button is stopped along its path by a stopper before the spark-producing mechanism can be activated. The stopper is permanently attached to the inner surface of the lighter housing, so that it cannot be removed out of the safety button""s path. As such, repeated operation of the safety button by a child will yield the same unsuccessful results.
The only way to activate the lighter is to depress the ignition button. When this is done, initially, the ignition button and the safety button will move towards the bottom end of the lighter in unison. However, when the stopper engages the safety button, the operator must continue to depress the ignition button until the spark-producing mechanism is activated. This is a simple, yet effective concept. Nevertheless, it is a concept that young children operating the lighter must recognize and grasp before they can successfully operate the lighter. In most cases, the child will not recognize the usefulness of the ignition button and will abandon the lighter after several unsuccessful attempts.
Moreover, even if a child does attain an appreciation for the interrelationship between the ignition button, the safety button, and the production of a flame, he/she will still have difficulty activating the lighter. The portion of the ignition button that is exposed (i.e., the ignition button operation section) is small relative to the size of the safety button. As such, it is more difficult to fully depress the ignition button than if the operator needed to depress only the larger, more-easily reachable, safety button. Thus, the single finger of a young child will not be able to fully depress the ignition button. Moreover, because of the smaller size and location of the ignition button, a child cannot use a plurality of fingers to try and depress the ignition button. As such, the strength needed to depress the ignition button, and the lack thereof in young children, itself acts as a deterrent in the present invention.
Furthermore, in order for the lighter to be successfully operated, the ignition button must be pressed in far enough so that the ignition button""s operation section travels just past the safety button""s contact surface. In order to achieve this task, the operator""s finger must have enough pulp to depress the ignition button past the contact surface of the safety button. While an adult operator can easily perform this procedure, a child operator will have difficulty doing so. Hence, again, the structural configuration of the safety mechanism of the present invention acts as a deterrent to use by young children.
In another embodiment of the invention, there is a safety mechanism in a cigarette lighter that utilizes a multi-button system: a button and a button cover. The button has at least two elevations and is coupled with the button cover. The button cover is coupled to one of the elevations of the button. This embodiment also uses a blocking element, which limits the downward movement of the button cover sufficiently to prevent activation of the piezo unit. To operate the lighter, the user must continue to apply pressure to the button to release fuel and to operate the piezo unit to generate a spark to ignite said fuel.
Finally, as can be understood from the above description, the invention disclosed herein achieves its safety objectives without making operation of the lighter any more cumbersome than a conventional piezoelectric cigarette lighter with no safety feature. Specifically, the ignition button is shaped and positioned in such a way that operation of the lighter is very simple in experienced hands. An adult user familiar with the operation of cigarette lighters need use only one finger and activate the lighter as he/she would normally by placing the finger on the safety and ignition buttons. This allows the user to operate the lighter in a safe, yet non-complicated manner.
This and other advantages of the present invention will become more apparent through the following description of the drawings and detailed description of the preferred embodiment.